1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club head having an adjustable shaft and hosel assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to a golf club shaft and hosel connection assembly comprising one or more shims that permit a user to adjust the loft, lie, and face angle of the golf club head, either dependently or independently without requiring the user to remove the shaft from the hosel completely.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that changing the angle of a golf club shaft with respect to the golf club head will change certain club specifications, including loft angle, lie angle, and face angle. Several types of adjustable golf clubs are currently available on the market. These models allow the user to adjust one or more of the golf club head's loft, lie and face angle by adjusting certain golf club components, which themselves rotate the shaft in a cone-shaped path about a reference axis.
Several of these models include angled wedges or tubular adjustment features that are retained on a shaft sleeve with features such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,235,839. The problem with these retention features, and in particular the separate retainer disclosed in connection with FIG. 38 of that reference, is that the retainer is often composed of a weaker material than the shaft sleeve and thus has a high failure rate. Furthermore, once the retainer is affixed to the shaft sleeve as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,235,839, the retainer must be permitted to move in a circular pattern during adjustment of the tubular adjustment feature (which moves the shaft sleeve around a cone-shaped path), and thus the shaft sleeve of golf club head, between its available angular positions. This movement requires that the hosel bore be sized to permit the movement of the retainer. The movement of the retainer thus becomes the limiting factor when calculating the minimum hosel bore for a golf club head, and can lead to a hosel having an undesirably large diameter, thereby limiting where the hosel can be disposed on a golf club head. Therefore, there is a need for adjustable golf clubs having narrower hosel bores and stronger, more streamlined adjustability retention features.